Parallel Lovers
by Alistair Lowary
Summary: -YAOI WARNING!- Sonic and Tails are transported to a strange alternate universe where they must fight a ruthless king and find a way home! Will the two best friends perish on this journey, or will they survive (and perhaps become more than friends along the way)?
1. Chapter I

YAOI WARNING! If you don't like Sonic and Tails having a relationship together, please do not read this story. Otherwise, I have a few announcements.

I know that this'll make me very unpopular, but I've decided to re-write the entire _Parallel Lovers_ series from the first chapter onwards. Yes, that means that all of the stuff you've already read technically never happened. Well, maybe it did happen but it just happened differently. Who knows, really? Anyway, I'm only doing this because I feel like there were a lot of things in my previous version that needed to be changed, and the simplest way to do that would be to perfom a complete re-write of the series.

And now that that's done with, here's my revised edition of _Parallel Lovers_. Allons-y!

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Chapter 1: An Introduction to the Universes

Alistair Lowary

3:00 PM, Emerald City - Prower Residence

Miles "Tails" Prower smiled and hummed a tune to himself as he tied a set of wires together. He'd been working for weeks now on this new project, and it felt good knowing that it was finally nearing completion. The machine, which the young prodigy had very proudly named the Temporal Analysis, Recon and Decision Integration System, was the latest in a line of tools to help the Freedom Fighters combat the evil Eggman Empire. It was designed to allow the resistance to travel through time, stopping various attacks before they'd even occur. It was also undoubtedly the most powerful invention that the two-tailed wonder had ever created. Powered by nothing other than a chaos emerald, the TARDIS contained the power to open a hole through the universe itself.

Tails stood up, wiped the sweat from his brow, and took a step back. For all the power that his machine contained, her design was remarkably simple. A computer terminal stood up beside something that looked like an upside-down silver serving tray, which emanated a soft hum and faint blue glow due to the emerald within. It was a beautiful sight, and the fox stood in awe before it. Sometimes he wondered if it was wise to command such power; if the intricacies of inter-woven time and space were something that mere Mobians should even be able to comprehend, much less manipulate. The fox found himself slightly scared at the concept that he had single-handedly created a device that would throw away the laws of physics that the Spirits themselves had put in place.

Actually, this certain situation brought up a memory for the kitsune. It had been many years ago, and Tails had just amazed his father with the results of his very first IQ. After the family had spent the night celebrating at the local pizzeria, and after they had gotten home and his mother had gone to bed, the fox's father had taken him aside and had given him a warning. Well, it was actually more of a story. He told him of the hubris, or blinding pride, that would eventually come from a life of immeasurable achievements; and he told his son to never let that pride overcome his sense of morality, and that he should never let himself lose sight of the line that he should never cross. If he did, it would only end up destroying him; and while the elder had never mentioned where this story originated, a haunted tone in his voice had hinted at a past experience, drenched in sorrow and pain. After such a lecture, Tails vowed never to lose sight of the line, even if the rewards would far outweigh the risks. It created a mental crossroads, almost, where he could see both the threshold and the road that he had travelled down. He knew that revealing the TARDIS to the resistance fighters would undoubtedly turn the war in their favor, and that he'd be known throughout the entire planet as the fox who invented time travel. But at the same time, he still clung to his sense of right and wrong. He felt like this was a bad idea, and that something horrible would happen because of his pride.

But was this _really _the threshold? How could Tails possibly know whether he was actually crossing the line, and not just passing another amazing milestone in scientific development? Perhaps time travel was just another step for the world, as was the development of the internet, or cell phones, or penicillin, or even the airplane and automobile? He was positively sure that the great minds behind those historical progressions in technology felt the same hubris that he did. Well, perhaps those inventions weren't the best examples, seeing as how the fox was the one who invented the internet and cellular phones. But still, nothing bad had ever come from any of those things!

Tails ran his fingers through his three long bangs. When it came to mathematics and science, he was second to none in the world; in fact, he rivaled some of the greatest minds that the world had ever known. But when it came to matters of life and philosophy, the kitsune was about as smart as your average non-evolved rat. Luckily, however, there was one person on the planet who knew the world and knew the layout of life-like no-one else; and that person also happened to be the longtime best friend of Tails Prower….

3:00 PM, City of Kingsburg – Prower Estate

Prince Miles Prower let out a soft sigh as a solitary bird flew high above his personal balcony. He wondered to himself what life would be like as that bird, free from the intrigue and drama of a despot father's court, caring only for the moment, and feeling the crisp afternoon wind in its feathers as he soared above a declining kingdom. Yes, his land was declining; the prince did not fear to think or to say it. All in the city knew that the embers of unrest would soon ignite into the fires of full-scale civil war. But nobody dared speak of it, knowing that if word of their traitorous speech reached the crown, King Amadeus would have them sent to the firing squad.

One might think that Prince Miles would be right there to personally silence the traitors; that he would be the same man as his father was; a "chip off the block" as some would say. Honestly, there was nothing further from honesty. While he was forced to publicly support the royal banner, the honest-to-spirits truth was that the young royal wanted nothing more than a civil war. There had been talk of impending revolution, rumors saying that the king had become a madman. The fox knew these rumors to be true; his father was not the kind and fair king he once was. He was a ruthless despot. In fact, if war were to break out now, the noble knew that it would be for the ultimate good of the nation. How ironic it seemed, then, that a civil war against the crown would force the prince to draw his pistol and sword in support of the evil that he hated so much? If the people were to rise up against the royal family, the only son of the monarch could never abandon his duties to the throne; such an act would be unthinkable. "_But perhaps the unthinkable is best."_

The prince's mind was suddenly brought back to the present when there came a soft knock from the balcony door. The oak gateway majestically opened, and Miles couldn't help but let out a warm smile when he saw an equally-graceful cobalt hedgehog standing in the entryway holding the prince's steel rapier. "Your Highness, I've brought your sword back from the smith; it should be sharper than the teeth on a razor-shark now."

"Just give it here for now." The fox carefully took the sword from cobalt and slid it into the scabbard on his belt. "And Sonic, I thought I told you to call me Miles."

"Sorry - I guess all this being towed around in public's made me a little more formal than I used to be." The blue hedgie gingerly wrapped his arm around the prince's waist and pressed his nose to the fox's. "But maybe if I wasn't your servant, I could sort these things out better."

In response, the kitsune gave a slow chuckle and drew his cobalt lover into a passionate kiss. The two allowed themselves to battle their tongues, each one trying to gain dominance in the other's mouth. This lasted for a good thirty seconds or so, before both pulled away to breathe. Miles gave the hedgehog a sly smile. "Sonikku, you know I want to do that. But if you weren't my servant, you'd be executed simply for being near me. Now is that what you want?"

Sonic moved his hand up to caress the fox-prince's muzzle. "I'd never want to be away from you, Miles." Cobalt gazed into his lover's sky-blue eyes and smiled. "Not even for a second."

"Hmm…" Prince Miles' eyes met with Sonic's, and for a moment, he was lost in an emerald sea. Suddenly, an idea came to the kitsune, and a seductive half-smile came across the fox's face. "You know…" The prince ran his fingers down to the hedgie's waist, gently rubbing up against a certain part of his anatomy. "Tonight's the launch of my new personal airship, and I have a _very _nice suite aboard her. I could use some company."

Sonic frowned slightly. "You know I hate flying things. Especially airships; those things are just big explosions waiting to happen!" He found himself putting on his best refusal face, but the prince's overwhelming half-handjob was undoubtedly causing him enough pleasure to distort it.

"Come on… don't make me beg." Miles tried to make his voice as seductive as possible while at the same time continuing to pleasure his lover. "You promised you'd never leave me." The fox then pressed his body up against Sonic's, all the while giving a soft smile. "And I promise you that you'll have so much fun, you won't even notice we're on a zeppelin."

Sonic took less than a moment to consider. "Fine…" Sonic grabbed the prince's hand, which had stopped rubbing his member and was now tracing a slow path upward through the fur on the hedgie's belly. "On one condition… stop _teasing_ me until we get to the airship!"

"Oh, all right." Prince Miles reluctantly brought his hand back down to his side and stared thoughtfully at his lover. If there was one overarching reason for a civil war, it was because of people like Sonic; people who were forced into what was basically slavery because one of their ancestors made a mistake and had their entire family line condemned for it. Everyone knew it was wrong, and people had made numerous attempts to repeal such laws. Unfortunately, King Amadeus' words _were _the law, and no efforts to change his views had ever been successful.

But the fact was simple: the country needed to change. Prince Miles had only once seen the conditions that servants were forced to live in, and it horrified him. Even within the noble's own city, they were considered the poorest of the poor; stains on the kingdom's otherwise perfect society. They were given no care by their employers; forced to eat from the refuse and live in small shacks just outside the city walls. Not even allowed in a clinic; the death toll among them was unimaginably high. The poorest districts of the servant-towns were rife with disease (most likely caused by the smoke from factories being blown into the villages) and poverty, and it was shocking and depressing to see young mothers carrying malnourished children, who were more than likely the result of a rape from their parent's employers.

Sonic was a lucky hedgehog due to the nature of his employment. A great many servants were utilized by the royal family, but only a select few ever really gained the attention of anyone important. See, the cobalt-furred hedgehog had come to the castle many years ago after being fired from his previous job. The head servant hired him, and he spent months scrubbing down floors and polishing doorknobs. He did this from sunup until sundown, sometimes working even later than that. But one day, Prince Miles had been walking down the hallway, returning to his quarters after attending a grand ball being held in his father's honor. Upon seeing the poor hedgie being worked to his limit, something clicked in the young noble. He put in a request to have Sonic transferred to his personal care, and he'd been taking care of him ever since. That was a little over two years ago, and since then, the two had developed a rather _intimate _relationship. Miles loved Sonic with all his heart, and it pained him to hear of the plight that his friends would go through every single day.

"Hey, are you all right?" A silky-smooth voice brought the prince's attention out of his daydream and back into the present. Sonic was staring right into Miles' eyes, smiling reassuringly at him. "You look like you're about to cry."

The kitsune quickly wiped his eyes. "I'm fine." He returned the smile.

"Good!" The hedgehog quickly wrapped his arms around the noble before pulling back. "Now, I should probably go run some more of those errands you told me to do. I'll be back in about an hour." He winked. "Can't wait for tonight!"

4:50 PM: Emerald City – Prower Residence

Tails the Fox smiled as he heard the familiar sound of his front door opening. The kitsune called out to his friend, drawing him into the openness of the workshop. The soft smile on the golden fox's face turned into an all out grin when he saw his companion enter the room, standing casually at the doorway.

"Hey, li'l bro! How's it going?" Sonic the Hedgehog smiled at his friend as he tossed his brand-new fedora onto a worktable. "You said it was urgent, so 'whatcha need?"

The kitsune sighed and showed the machine to his friend. "I need you to tell me what to do with this."

Sonic shook his head slowly. This had been a recurring issue with his genius of a friend for the past few months now. Every time Tails invented something, he'd end up questioning his ability to 'stay on the right side of the line'. Honestly, Sonic couldn't understand why his best friend was suddenly second-guessing himself. "Tails, I'm gonna tell you what I tell you every time you ask me this…"

"That I know what's best in my heart?" The fox rolled his eyes. "I know that, but it's not the "what's best" that I'm worried about. It's my mental state that frightens me."

Sonic gave a surprising laugh. "Your mental state? Tails, you're perfectly sane. Making advancements in the world isn't going to change that."

The young kit suddenly raised his voice, which Sonic had never seen before. "No, you just don't get it! Damn it, of course I'm not insane! I'm just… too accomplished for my own good! I've done so much with my life, and now I'm creating a _time machine_ and preparing to break the laws of the Spirits themselves! Can't you see that I'm letting my accomplishments get the better of me?" Tails looked up into the hedgehog's emerald eyes and lowered his voice to almost a whisper. "I could break the damn universe, and I didn't even consider that when I built this!"

Sonic sighed. He could see the kit's point. Nobody had ever achieved as much as him, and even the smallest achievement will create a sense of pride. It was only fair to assume, then, that Tails' numerous successes had caused him to accumulate a rather large sense of hubris and arrogance over the course of his lifetime. It was a frightening thing, feeling invincible. One might love it at first, but it would soon cause trouble. One would begin to become reckless, throwing caution to the wind in pursuit of some notion of fame or glory. That had been the downfall of many, and Sonic didn't want his best friend to become one of them.

"Tails…" Cobalt grabbed his best friend by the shoulder. "You know what you're doing, what you're achieving. And I think so long as you recognize that you have the potential to let yourself be overcome by hubris and arrogance, you also have the potential to reject it. And if there's one thing I know about you, it's that you'll always do the right thing. You _will_ reject the pride and you'll always be a good person."

The two-tailed genius smiled sadly up at his companion, well aware that tears were welling up in his eyes. "I'm just scared, Sonic…" His voice was almost a whimper, and he quickly buried his face in Sonic's chest, sobbing quietly.

"Hey, you'll be all right…" The hedgehog wrapped his arms around his friend and patted him on the back before quickly pulling away from the hug and giving him a reassuring grin. "Besides, even if you were to use the machine, I'm sure you've used the proper precautions. You always do, even if you don't realize it."

To demonstrate, Sonic slowly walked over to the machine and fiddled with the wires a little. "You see? You've done a whole bunch to make sure that all these wires are in the proper places and everything. And the tubing is proper, and the computers are correct… you've done everything to keep people safe, even if you can't see it." Cobalt then stepped onto the pad and jumped up and down on it, smiling when nothing happened. "See you've made a perfectly safe invention…."

The hedgehog stopped speaking when he noticed a blinking red light on the dashboard of the computer terminal that he swore hadn't been on a moment ago. "Hey, what's that light mean?"

Suddenly, there was a flurry of sparks as one of the power conduits overloaded. Within moments, Tails was beside the computer terminal, all previous thoughts banished from his head as he attempted to shut down the time machine. "Sonic, get off the pad! It could blow!"

The hedgehog tried to comply, but he instantly found out that an unseen force held him hostage. His own legs failed to obey him as the machine continued to overload. "Tails, I can't move! Help!"

The kitsune was panicking. Spirits knew what could happen if the machine completely melted down while Sonic was on the pad. Forcing himself to calm down, he tried to think. Perhaps some form of ballistic force could knock his friend off of his feet! But what force could possibly be enough to knock a full-grown hedgehog away from electromagnetic forces?

"Sonic, I'm gonna tackle you!" Tails' idea was risky, but now wasn't the best time to contemplate a multitude of options. The fox sprinted over to the opposite end of the workshop, giving him enough space to pick up enough speed. He decided to use a move that the hedgehog had taught him a few years back. Tails speedily pulled himself into a ball and began to spin. In a matter of mere seconds, the fox was twirling nearly at the speed of sound, amassing huge amounts of potential energy.

Then he let go. The young fox flew across the room at near unimaginable speeds, hurtling toward his friend in mortal danger. Tails closed his eyes as he slammed into Sonic, who was uprooted from his position and sent flying into the wall _just _as the machine exploded into a fiery blast of debris and electric energy. They both hit the wall at near-supersonic speeds, and all went black.

_TO BE CONTINUED…. _

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So, please give me your opinion on this chapter. Do you think that it's any better than the first chapter of the original version? Or just send me any review telling me anything you want. Remember, so long as you don't flame, I'll still love y'all ;)


	2. Chapter II

Well, here it is! The long-awaited Chapter 2! I hope you find it to your liking. Lots of suspense and stuff! More to come soon, I promise!

_Allons-y!_

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Chapter II

Alistair Lowary

The next several seconds of Tails' life passed by almost as if the kitsune were in a dream. They were short, yet long. Desolate, yet filled with imagery and sound. It felt both strange and familiar as he drifted among everything and nothing. Was this death? An unexplainable sensation rushed through the fox. It was fear and courage, tiredness and energy. Everything, it seemed, was a paradox.

A strangely uncoordinated thought raced through the kit's head. Where was Sonic? Tails struggled to wrap his mind around the question. Sonic was nowhere, and yet he was everywhere; just as the fox was. What _was _this place? Why was everything paradoxical? Couldn't there be one thing normal?

And then, almost as if on cue, the kit heard a sound. It was the one sound that was not like the others; the one that did not have its opposite as real as it was. It was the faint but audible sound of air rushing somewhere. Perhaps it was an oddity; an anomaly. Maybe it was just something different in this world of everything and nothing. But just maybe, maybe it was some sort of tether. It took a while, but Tails eventually found himself following the whooshing noise.

But, as with everything in this dream, even the non-paradoxical, semi-linear sound was a paradox. The closer he got to the source, the farther away the sound became. It faded and faded, and Tails struggled to keep the sound-tether in his mind. Until it was an almost inaudible speck amongst the other specks of everything that ever was or ever would be.

And then it faded. The kit felt despair, another thing that somehow had no opposite. He wanted to escape; to follow the sound. But instead he'd ran away from it, all while running toward it at the same time. However, the moment that it was gone, as soon as the soft sound of air had vanished from the kit's mind, something else took its place. It felt almost like a bed; a very comfortable bed. And another feeling came with the sensation... a sense of reality. It was something that Tails didn't expect to recognize, but somehow did. It was also another thing that felt almost like a tether. The Spirits, it seemed, had thrown him a lifeboat.

He didn't move, but he somehow followed his sense of reality. And things changed around him, too. The infinite faded into the finite, and things started to take shape. The nothingness vanished into the void, and the empty space merged with a sense of fullness. It was a feeling of... a feeling of materialization. Tails felt as if he was being pieced together from a billion atoms from across the universe. As he slowly fell back into reality, the feeling of the comfortable bed became more prominent. It felt _there _now, not just like some thought at the back of the kit's mind.

And then the sound came back. It was soft at first; a gentle breeze in the subconscious. But then it became louder, a wind. And then it reached its apex. It felt like a gale-force storm, a rhythmic sound of air rushing in and out of... well, _something._

But, in one last paradox, the hurricane-force wind faded as soon as it had started, perhaps even before. And at last, Tails had arrived back in reality. The darkness existed now. It was complete; it was real. Nothing was strange now. Sleep was sleep, something was something, time was time.

The ordeal had tired out the young fox. While he wanted to wake up, he just felt like he couldn't right now. He needed some sleep. After all, he'd probably come to in a hospital bed some time tomorrow; all the doctors busy worrying about him. But for now, Tails just decided that the best thing to do would be to get some sleep...

_MEANWHILE, ACROSS REALITY_

Prince Miles Prower's head drifted slowly to one side as he let out a soft groan. How had he even fallen asleep in the middle of foreplay? Especially with Sonic; sex was the time that the prince looked forward to all day!

But on the plus side, it _had _been a nice little nap. But he'd had dreams like he'd never had before. How is it possible to feel turned-on and turned-off at the exact same time? Come to think of it, how could it be possible to feel everything else and nothing else at the same time, either?

The fox-noble's serene contemplation was suddenly interrupted by a loud crackling sound. Prince Miles' eyes immediately opened, and he was shocked to find himself in the midst of what looked like some sort of wreckage. Smoke plumed up from some kind of reactor, and loose tubing and wires burnt bright orange, occasionally letting off wild sparks.

The young kitsune's mind started racing at a million kilometers per hour. What the hell had happened? Was this the wreck of his ship? He immediately called out for the guards, for a medic, for a steward, for someone. But he heard nobody. If the rest of the ship was in this condition, it wasn't surprising.

A sudden, gut-wrenching feeling ripped through his stomach. "Sonic!" He called out through the enveloping blackness. "Sonic, where are you?"

No response.

He could already be dead. No, Miles couldn't accept that. Sonic wouldn't die; the Spirits wouldn't be that cruel. He had to be here somewhere. The young fox-prince pawed around helplessly across the floor, hoping to come across a body. No use; there was nothing but copper wires and rubber tubes, and the kit felt sharp pain as shrapnel cut through his hands and wrists. He had to find him, he hand to find...

Suddenly, amidst all of the wreckage, the prince felt a wall. An intact wall, made of concrete. Another thought raced through Miles' mind. He wasn't on the airship. A zeppelin couldn't contain any concrete, it wouldn't fly otherwise. He had to be somewhere else.

But where was that somewhere else? Was he in a city somewhere? Had he been kidnapped and stored in a warehouse? Where _was he? _Well, it didn't matter where he was; if he didn't get out, the smoke would soon kill him.

He forced himself up onto his feet. A tearing pain shot through his lower leg. His ankle was sprained. _Great. _Miles forced himself to limp as he stumbled about the wreckage toward what looked like a door. He didn't want to leave. He wanted to find Sonic. He couldn't possibly leave his lover alone here. But it was also entirely possible that the hedgehog wasn't even here. It was a risk that Miles had to take. He started to walk, each step more painful than the last. It took him a while, but he eventually managed to make it, almost collapsing at the slightly raised entrance. Why did everything have to have a step?

He painfully dragged himself out through the open doorway, and he came to another set of stairs, leading upward to what appeared to be a house. There was less smoke here, so the fox-prince could make out what exactly was at the top of the stairs. It looked like some sort of kitchen. It wasn't entirely visible, but Miles could see something that vaguely resembled a larder, and possibly a stove.

That kitchen represented life. If he stayed down here, the kitsune would surely perish. With a great cry, he pulled himself onto the first step. Miles panted, he'd never experienced that amount of pain before.

"_One down, only... only twelve more to go."_ The fox-boy tried to give himself some encouraging thought.

He took another step. More pain. He took a moment to recover, and then hauled his sprained foot up another step. His felt his muzzle become stained with tears as the pain became almost unbearable.

Six stairs up. Miles was halfway to safety. With one last cry, he summoned the courage to continue. He lifted one foot up, and placed it on the stairs. The kitsune's confidence faded as his ankle twisted out from under him. With a cry, he plummeted all the way back down the stairwell, fracturing his back at least twice on the fall.

He landed with a thump, his eyes gazing longingly back up the stairs. The prince blinked back tears as the blackness once again enveloped him. He didn't want to die. Not here, not yet. Not away from Sonic...

His thoughts were interrupted again. In his half-conscious state, Miles heard the banging of a door upstairs. Someone cried something out.

"Down here, sir! I see smoke!"

Figures descended down the stairwell. They were... appalling. Four-fingered monstrosities with light skin; they stood at about five to six feet tall. One of them wore some sort of black and gold uniform, and a helmet. The words "_Fire Department of Emerald City" _were written on it.

"Don't worry, sir. We're gonna get you to a hospital." The tall one motioned for another one to get something, hopefully a stretcher.

"Sonic..." Miles mumbled under his breath and raised a weak hand toward the smoking room. The tall one apparently heard him, and gave an order for two other pink-skinned men to enter the room.

"Don't worry, we'll find your friend."

Prince Miles mumbled something incoherent as he fell into unconsciousness. As he closed his eyes and the blackness took over him, he heard something faint. From inside the smoke-filled room, there was a sound of whooshing air. Then a cry from one of the pink-skinned men.

"Oh, Spirits! What the hell?"

Blackness.


	3. Chapter III

Hello Governors! At least, I think that's how you say it. Oh, well. This is Chapter III of _Parallel Lovers_, but I guess you people already know that and are thinking right now about how to murder me for holding you from reading this story. So I'll keep it short. In essence, I'm thinking of creating a new Facebook account so that you guys can follow me if you want. Wouldn't that be cool? Anyway, here we go. _Allons-y!_

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Chapter III

Alistair Lowary

Tails Prower let out a yawn as he gently woke up from his sleep. The nap had been comfortable; something that the kitsune was not expecting, given the fact that he had lost consciousness on the hard floor of his garage. In fact, nothing hurt, either. The fox had assumed right before he slammed into his comrade that he'd at least have a broken bone, perhaps two. But so far, there was absolutely no pain.

Tails opened his eyes and looked around. Whatever serene thoughts he may have been having had just vanished. This was wrong; it was _very _wrong. He was in some sort of suite, lying down on an extremely comfortable bed. The surrounding room was about as ornate. Hard mahogany paneling surrounded him, and a small chandelier adorned with diamonds hung from the ceiling, swaying gently as the whole room vibrated and resonated ever so slightly with a soft hum. A couple of paintings were set into the walls, and an old-looking black and white photograph sat on a nightstand beside the bed. Tails sat up and grabbed the picture. It was a photo of Amadeus Prower, the fox's father. He was holding his young son in his lap; both were smiling into the camera.

The room was very strange. It wasn't anything he'd see in his house, that's for sure. And he doubted that any of his friends were rich enough to afford such luxurious accommodations. But then, what was with the photo of him and his dad? Tails didn't remember taking that picture, but there it was, plain as day. This was obviously someplace that the young kit frequented, but for the life of him, he couldn't remember where it was.

Suddenly, there was another strange sensation that coursed through the kitsune's head. It felt like some sort of doorway had just opened, but was invisible. Soon, though, the feeling was accompanied by a sound that the fox recognized. It sounded like air rushing through a wind tunnel. There was a bright flash of whitish-blue light, and suddenly, a voice.

"Well, that was a hell of a thing."

Tails' head immediately turned away from the photo and saw Sonic lying down on the bed, right next to where he had just been lying. "Sonic..." Tails said, almost breathless. "Are you all right? What happened to you?"

The hedgehog quickly sat up and turned to face his friend. "I'm fine. Weird dreams for a while, but I'm fine. Honestly, I expected to be a little more bashed up." He rubbed the quills on the back of his head. "But there's nothing. I'm not even sore." He quickly glanced around the room. "Where are we?"

"I don't know. We must've been transported somewhere when the TARDIS exploded." It took a while for the kit to realize that. The odds of making and surviving a successful transport in the middle of a core breach were... well, let's just say you had a better chance of winning the lottery... three times... and then getting bit by a shark and struck by lightning on the same day.

"Well, that's great. How do we get back?"

The kit froze in place; he forgot to breathe for a full two seconds. Normally, he would've had a "_return pad_" that would send them back to the TARDIS in the present. Unfortunately, that was still a work in progress at the time, and the fox didn't exactly keep a spare one on him "_in case of emergency_". He gulped a little in nervousness. "I... I have no idea."

"What do you mean you have no idea?" There was a hint of urgency in Sonic's voice. "Are you saying that because of an accident, we're stuck here? I don't even know where we are! Or _when _we are!"

"Oh, that's so cliché." Tails tried to use a bit of humor to ease the tension; it didn't work. "Look, Sonic. I'm trying to think here. We've obviously been transported somewhere else. There's a picture of me and my dad here, so we're somewhere close to the same time period; that's always good!" The kitsune furled his brow in thought. "If there's a picture of me, than that means this place must belong to someone who knows me, and then that means that we can..."

Without warning, there was a knock on the door. The interruption caused Tails to stop mid-sentence. He waited patiently for someone to come in, but nobody did. Eventually, there was another knock. The fox looked at his friend nervously. He was met with a gaze of equal apprehension.

"Yes?" Tails called out nervously.

The door opened, and a strange man walked in. He was a cat; barely over the age to be considered an adult. He wore a dark black military uniform, and a cap to match. His boots were polished until they shone brightly, and all of the articles of clothing appeared neatly pressed and folded.

The cat-man gave a crisp salute. "Your Highness, I'm terribly sorry to bother you, sir. Unfortunately, we've run into a bit of a problem..." His voice trailed off for a second, and he looked at Tails, as if waiting for permission to continue. When the fox gave no objection, and just stared blankly, the cat continued speaking. "Ah, yes, well... apparently, the bridge detected an unusual surge in barometric pressure both outside and inside the ship. It's probably just a malfunction in the pressure sensors, but we really should return to dock."

Tails blinked.

"Your Highness, are you feeling all right?"

Tails looked over at Sonic, who shrugged as if saying "_I have no clue."_ Finally, the fox looked back at the soldier and nodded. "All right... do whatever you think is safest."

"Yes, sir." The cat-man gave another salute and grinned. "And can I just say... well, permission to speak freely, your highness?"

Tails nodded.

"Right, uh... well, it's really an honor to serve the crown, sir. I'm really, really, _really _glad to have gotten the chance to have met you." He smiled broadly. "I don't care what the protesters say about your family, my pa and I will always be loyalists to the core."

"Um... well, that's great, mister..." The kitsune was struggling to comprehend what was going on right now.

"Uh, it's O'Malley. Lieutenant O'Malley, 5th Airborne Regiment." The cat said this with great pride. "First in my family to attend officer's school, too. We're not really a wealthy family; we're barely middle-class."

The fox nodded again. This really was some sort of weird trick. He was a prince, apparently. But what the _hell _was going on? Tails decided that the best way to figure this out would be to play along. "What year did you graduate, Lieutenant?"

"2009, sir. Been serving in the Royal Air Guard ever since."

_2009._ Well, it was only a few years ago. So then why did everything here look so archaic? What was the Royal Air Guard?

"Um, your highness... as much as I love this conversation, I really need to be getting back to the bridge. They'll want to know your decision."

The cat-man gave another crisp salute before turning and heading out the door. "Lieutenant?" Tails called out after him.

"Yes, sir?"

"You said you've been serving with the guard ever since 2009. You should take some time off, go visit your family."

O'Malley smiled. "As you wish, your highness. They're a long, long way from here, though."

"Oh?" Tails raised one eyebrow. "Where are you from, Lieutenant?"

"Oh, it's just a little town in the foothills of the Green Hill Mountains. I left after the whole town started leaning more towards rebellion. After all, sir... I am a loyalist to the core."

"Hmm, sounds lovely." Tails smiled a little bit at O'Malley. "What's it called?"

O'Malley puffed out his chest a little, as if the name of his hometown carried a fair amount of weight. "Demon's Run, sire."

Sonic then stirred a little on the bed, recalling something. "Wait, did you just say..."

"I'm from a small village called Demon's Run, sir." O'Malley frowned at the hedgehog a little bit, as if it was out of place for him to speak. "Anyway, sir, I really should be going. If we turn around now, we might make it back to the city within a couple of hours."

With yet another salute, O'Malley turned and walked out the door, closing it behind him.

After a few seconds, Tails turned away from the door too, locking gazes with Sonic. A hint of worry was present in his eyes, along with a dash of disbelief.

"What is it, Sonic?"

"Nothing, it's... really nothing. Just something I remember from TV once..." The hedgehog's voice trailed off for a moment. "Besides, it's got to be just a coincidence."

"All right, if you say so." Tails walked over to the bed, and looked underneath it. "Ah, here we go!" The kitsune quickly pulled out a folded military uniform, specially tailored for his twin tails.

"How'd you know that was there?" Sonic raised one eyebrow.

"I always keep my clothing underneath my bed if I might ever need it on short notice." Tails quickly stripped down out of his pajamas, and dressed himself up in the uniform. It was still very... royal. Knee-high black boots came halfway up his legs. The rest of the uniform was a dark black coat over a white shirt and black tie. No cap, though. There was also a belt that wrapped around Tails' waist. It carried both a long dagger and shining revolver.

"Well, O'Malley said we'd be arriving at the city in a couple of hours, so how do I look?" The fox showed off his new outfit to Sonic, who laughed slightly.

"Very military-y." He said. "So, you seem to be taking this lightly."

The kitsune shook his head no. "I intend to figure out exactly where we are. And I also intend to find a way back home, wherever that may be."

Sonic grinned and gave his usual thumbs-up. "All right, Tails and Sonic, out on another adventure!"

"Yep." Tails gave a small grin. "Another adventure." And then they both sat down on the bed, and started planning said adventure. They'd get through this, even with no return pad and no clue. They'd win this newfound fight.

They _would _get home.

* * *

Yes, yes, yes! More Doctor Who references! More Doctor Who! MORE MORE MORE! Mwahahahaa! ... Ahem, sorry about that. Anyway, yes, there will be a lot of Whovian stuff going on in this story, just 'cuz. But getting back to what I actually wanted to say. Please review! Send me a PM telling me how the story's going! Send me a PM to tell me how you're going! All that fun stuff. See you guys soon! _-ALLONS-Y!_


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